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Jimmy Ta

Jimmy Ta moved from Vietnam to the United States with his mother and siblings when he was in elementary school, but his father was unable to join them for another year. Jimmy struggled with the language, the culture, and with a lack of self-confidence. When a teacher invited him to join a mentoring program called Youth Ambassadors, Jimmy learned that everyone has struggles of some sort and he found a deep satisfaction in helping others overcome theirs.

“We should remember the kindness, compassion, and sympathy that have been given to us so we can pass it on.”

In Youth Ambassadors, fifth graders work with a partner that is a third grader. I used to work with a little boy. He’s silly, but there’s a charm in him that made me not mad at him. Mentoring is great. They teach me how to not get mad because someone can’t reach the level you’re at.

A kid in another elementary school created something called the Buddy Bench. If you are sad or don’t have anyone to play with, you would go sit on that bench. If someone sees you sitting there, they’ll go talk to you and play with you. It’s a compassionate thing to do and it lets kids with social problems or who are [having] a bad day see that others care about them.